insurance

[mcosgrove@domain.elided]

Even "good" insurance companies, only distant cousins to Satan, are not immune
to trying to screw you, either by design or out of ignorance.  When my '87 Verde
had its entire left side destroyed by a mentally challenged female resident of
the East Texas piney woods, USAA was happy to accept the appraisal of the
damage.  But then they told me confidently that the car was a Milano Gold, as
Alfa had not made any Verde's in 1987, and they considered it totaled.  I got
another appraisal, lower than the first, to keep from having to drive a car with
a salvage title.  Still no joy.  When I asked them to get another opinion as to
the car's value, it came back even lower.  Their new "expert" was the body man
at an Olds-Pontiac dealer in Sugarland.  I asked him where he came up with the
figure, and he freely admitted he didn't have a clue even what the car was let
alone its value, and he had pulled the number out of his ass!!  But that was
good enough for USAA.

I finally had to page through a couple of years of Alfa Owners, Hemmings, etc.
finding asking prices of Verde's and send USAA a letter first convincing them of
the existence of 1987's, showing them what comparable cars were selling for, and
giving them my opinion as to my car's value. Soon after that, they cheerily came
back as if nothing untoward had happened with an "awfully sorry, you were right
the whole time, never mind, we'll accept that the car isn't totaled and give you
the lower  of the appraisals that you were nice enough to get for us."   I still
ended up with a bit in my pocket after getting the car fixed, but it did not
reimburse me for the hassle.

Mike

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